seekers of the jade monkey

[reverancepavane]

I just went to see Faun Fables at The Jade Monkey, purely on the basis of a magazine article that sounded interesting. This is my review. It is not as nice as the magazine's review. The show opened with The Flaming Headdresses of Neon, an avant-garde electric guitar/percussion group (with the occaisional trumpet, tin whistle, and bassoon thrown in). As percusionists they were reasonable musicians; as guitarists they each played their own thing without any sense of cohesion or sign that were listening to each other (which is a must when just jamming). I won't even remotely classify the sounds they made with their voices over the top of all this by any means that could possibly be mistaken as a musical term, except to say that I sing better. I noted the name only to stay clear of them in the future. Next came Faun Fables, a folkish duo from California. Thematically their music was interesting (nicely dark in places) and their acoustic guitar work was good with moments approaching true inspiration. Njils was a consummate entertainer and drove the energy of the show with his enthusiasm. Dawn, however, cannot sing. She can yodel, but she cannot sing. And for me this is the death knell of any performance, especially where she is required to carry the emotions of the song. [1] And she didn't carry much in the way of the energy of the performance, although the problems with the foldback might have depressed her. Overall a great disappointment. Although the venue was a pleasant surprise. The last time I passed the The Jade Monkey it was a shop which sold reconditioned clothes. Now it is a venue that has the potential to be quite intimate and accomadating. There are comfy armchairs up the back, a nice garden, and quite a nice stage/sound system. I was thinking that it might be nice to see Wendy Rule (along with Craig and Rachel, of course) there. Possibly even Parissa and Carl of The Hottentots. [2] It is quite possible that thinking these thoughts has affected my review. It is also quite possible my mind was fleeing into pleasant memories of people who can sing. [3] [1] Maybe I shouldn't be so particular. As someone pointed out Laurie Anderson didn't really start singing until quite recently. However Laurie is a brilliant vocal artist, even when she doesn't sing. The last performance of hers that I went to was purely a spoken word performance and was simply brilliant. Although I pity the many attendees why were expecting a music concert. But I loved it! [2] Although I hope more people come to their next Adelaide gig than the one I went to. It's rather embarrassing when the performers outnumber the audience and they are a duo... Although it essentially turned into a Hottentots Unplugged session, and they even played Sharpening The Knife (something they don't normally do since it means Carl has to completely retune). [3] I am now going to take my suggestion and play something to refresh my mind. Take it away Parissa... (See Current Music for what I am now listening to)